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Ebla (, about 55 km southwest of Aleppo . It was an important city-state in two periods, first in the late Third Millennium BC , then again between 1800 and 1650 BC . The site is known today as Tell Mardikh, and is famous mainly for archives of about 15,000Gordon, Cyrus H. ''Forgotten Scripts: Their Ongoing Discovery and Decipherment'' (Basic Books, New York, 1982) pg. 155 Cuneiform Tablet s, dated from around 2250 BC , in Sumerian and in Eblaite — a previously unknown Semitic language. DISCOVERY AND EXCAVATION In language that is being called ' Eblaite .'Four volumes of essays on the Ebla archives and the reconstructed Eblaite language were published by the Center for Ebla Research at New York University, as ''Eblaitica''. Pettinato and Dahood believe the Eblaite script is West Semitic, however Gelb and others believe it is an East Semitic dialect, closer to Akkadian .Pettinato, Giovanni ''The Archives of Ebla''; Gelb, I. J. "Thoughts about Ibla: A Preliminary Evaluation" in ''Monographic Journals of the Near East, Syro-Mesopotamian Studies'' 1/1 (May 1977) pp.3-30 Ebla's close link to southern Mesopotamia, where the script had developed, establishes further the links between the Sumerians and Semitic cultures that certainly already existed before the first texts appear in Sumer in 3000 BC. Vocabulary lists were found with the tablets, allowing them to be translated. It now appears that the building housing the tablets was not the palace library, which may yet be uncovered, but an archive of provisions and tribute, law cases and diplomatic and trade contacts, and a scriptorium where apprentices copied texts. The larger tablets had originally been stored on shelves, but had fallen onto the floor when the palace was destroyed. The location where tablets were discovered where they had fallen allowed the excavators to reconstruct their original position on the shelves: it soon appeared that they were originally shelved according to subject. EBLA IN THE THIRD MILLENNIUM BC The name "Ebla" means "White Rock", and refers to the limestone outcrop on which the city was built. Although the site shows signs of continuous occupation since before 3000 BC , its power grew and reached its apogee in the second half of the Following Millennium . Ebla's first apogee was between 2400 and 2240 BC ; its name is mentioned in texts from Akkad around 2300 BC . Most of the Ebla palace tablets, which date from that period, are about economic matters; they provide a good look into the everyday life of the inhabitants, as well as many important insights into the cultural, economic, and political life of northern Syria and Near East around the middle of the third millennium B.C. The texts are accounts of the state revenues, but they also include royal letters, Sumerian-Eblaite dictionaries, school texts and diplomatic documents, like treaties between Ebla and other towns of the region. Ebla's most powerful king was listed as Ebrium, or Ibrium, who concluded the so-called "Treaty with Ashur", which offered the Assyrian king Tudia the use of trading post officially controlled by Ebla. The fifth and last king of Ebla during this period was Ebrium's son, Ibbi-Sipish, the first to succeed in a dynastic line, thus breaking with the established Eblaite custom of electing its ruler for a fixed term of office, lasting seven years. This absolutism may have contributed to the unrest that was ultimately instrumental in the city's decline. Meantime, however, the reign of Ibbi-Sipish was considered a time of inordinate prosperity, in part because the king was given to frequent travel abroad. It was recorded both in Ebla and Aleppo that he concluded specific treaties with neighboring Armi, as Aleppo was called at the time. Economy At that time, Ebla was a major commercial center. Its major commercial rival was – 2150 BC ). Government The form of government is not well known, but the city appears to have been ruled by a merchant aristocracy who elected a king and entrusted the city's defense to paid soldiers. Through the tablets we have learned the names of several "kings" among whom were Igrish-Halam , Irkab-Damu , Ar-Ennum , Ibrium and Ibbi-Sipish . Ibrium broke with tradition and introduced an absolute monarchy. He was followed by his son Ibbi-Sipish. Religion Some well-known Semitic deities appear at Ebla ( Dagan , Ishtar , Resheph , Kanish , Hadad ), and some otherwise unknown ones ( Kura , Nidakul ), plus a few Sumerian gods ( Enki and Ninki ) and Hurrian gods ( Ashtapi , Hebat , Ishara ).
Many Old Testament Genesis names that have not been found in other Near Eastern languages do have similar forms in Eblaite (a-da-mu / , Jerusalem (Ye-ru-sa-lu-um), Hazor , Lachish , Gezer , Dor , Megiddo , Joppa , etc. Giovanni Pettinato has also claimed to find references to Sodom and Gomorrah .An early assessment was Clifford A Wilson , ''The impact of Ebla on Bible records: The sensational Tell Mardikh'' (1977). Three versions of the Eblaite creation hymn have been found. They state Lord of heaven and earth: the earth was not, you created it, the light of day was not, you created it, the morning light you had not {Link without Title} made exist. The destruction of Ebla Sargon Of Akkad and his grandson Naram-sin , the conquerors of much of Mesopotamia, each claim to have destroyed Ebla; the exact date of destruction is the subject of continuing debate, but 2240 BC is a probable candidate. During the next three centuries, Ebla was able to regain some economic importance in the region, but never reached its former glory. It is possible the city had economic ties with the nearby city of Urshu , as is documented by economic texts from Drehem (a suburb of Nippur ), and from findings in Kultepe /Kanesh. EBLA IN THE SECOND MILLENNIUM BC Several centuries after its destruction by the Akkadians, Ebla managed to recover some of its importance, and had a second apogee lasting from about 1850 to 1600 BC . Its people were then known as Amorite s; Ibbit-Lim was the first king. Ebla is mentioned in texts from Alalakh around 1750 BC . The city was destroyed again in the turbulent period of 1650 – 1600 BC , by a Hittite king ( Mursili I or Hattusili I ). Ebla never recovered from its second destruction. The city continued as a small village until the 7th Century AD, then was deserted and forgotten until its archaeological rediscovery. REFERENCES SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
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